JDF Workflow Integration with Esko WebCenter, Esko BackStage and SAP

A specialist in custom film packaging based in Memmingen, Germany, Leeb Folien has been using the new communications interface since February 2007.

19/04/07 Esko, the world's leading supplier of solutions for the digital imaging of flexo plates and for pre-production workflows in the packaging industry, announces the successful implementation of a JDF-based communication solution at Leeb Folien GmbH & Co KG. Working in collaboration with Dr. Lauterbach & Partner, Esko established an online connection between Esko BackStage and the SAP ERP system. Leeb Folien has also installed Esko WebCenter, a JDF-based online approval tool. A specialist in custom film packaging based in Memmingen, Germany, Leeb Folien has been using the new communications interface since February 2007. The installation has maximized the level of automation and significantly reduced error rates in the company's prepress workflow.

"We needed an online connection between the systems we use in sales and those in prepress. Thanks to the JDF interface between our SAP system and the prepress workflow, implemented as a pilot project by Dr. Lauterbach & Partner, we no longer need to enter orders twice. That minimizes potential sources of errors and improves our ability to track an order," explains Roland Wallner, head of the prepress department at Leeb Folien. It is now possible to send order data entered by an employee during job preparation directly to the production software. With supply chain management, the goal is to shorten throughput times and optimize information flows.Esko WebCenter, a Web-based tool for project management as well as print approval and release processes, is used for Leeb Folien's internal and external communication. "We used to send PDF files to customers via e-mail, which was very time-consuming and costly. Now, all print files are stored on our Web server. An automated e-mail notifies the customer and he can inspect and comment on the results. Automation has cost effectively streamlined our entire work process. Thanks to WebCenter, customers can track the status of a project in every detail, which ultimately leads to enhanced transparency and greater customer satisfaction," concludes Roland Wallner.